Crucifix, from the series “Grünewald”
- Date
- 1981
- Classification
- Drawings & watercolors
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 23 3/8 x 18 13/16 in. (59.3 x 47.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Partial and promised gift of Betsy Millard, the Earl and Betsy Millard Collection
- Rights
- © Arnulf Rainer
- Object Number
- 89:2003
NOTES
Arnulf Rainer took a photographic detail of Matthias Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece, a sixteenth-century painting that is considered a masterpiece of its age. Focusing on only a small portion of the original painting, Rainer's work brings the viewer eye-level with Christ's severely tortured body at the moment of his death. The cropped, clasped hands of Mary Magdalene at the lower left, and the pointing finger of John the Baptist at right underscore the scene's poignancy and continually direct the viewer's gaze to the violent central image. Rainer added a flurry of speckled, jabbed, and convoluted black marks to the scene as a way to invigorate the revered painting.
Provenance
1981 -
Arnulf Rainer, Vienna, Austria
- 1986
David Nolan Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1986 -
Earl Millard (d.1996) and Betsy Millard, St. Louis, MO, purchased from David Nolan Gallery, James Ropiequet Schmidt of St. Louis serving as agent [1]
2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, partial and promised gift of Betsy Millard [2]
Notes:
The primary source of provenance is Betsy Millard [information for appraisals form, SLAM document files]. Other supporting documents are noted.
[1] A Bill of Sale dated February 18, 1986 addressed to Earl Millard from James Ropiequet Schmidt of St. Louis suggests that James Schmidt served as a broker for David Nolan [SLAM document files].
[2] The terms of this partial and promised gift are detailed in the contract between Betsy Millard and the Saint Louis Art Museum [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, June 3, 2003.
Arnulf Rainer, Vienna, Austria
- 1986
David Nolan Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1986 -
Earl Millard (d.1996) and Betsy Millard, St. Louis, MO, purchased from David Nolan Gallery, James Ropiequet Schmidt of St. Louis serving as agent [1]
2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, partial and promised gift of Betsy Millard [2]
Notes:
The primary source of provenance is Betsy Millard [information for appraisals form, SLAM document files]. Other supporting documents are noted.
[1] A Bill of Sale dated February 18, 1986 addressed to Earl Millard from James Ropiequet Schmidt of St. Louis suggests that James Schmidt served as a broker for David Nolan [SLAM document files].
[2] The terms of this partial and promised gift are detailed in the contract between Betsy Millard and the Saint Louis Art Museum [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, June 3, 2003.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.